Preview — Anglicanism
by Mark Chapman

Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction

What is Anglicanism? How is it different from other forms of Christianity, and how did it come to have so many different versions throughout the world? Although originally united by location and a common belief, Anglicanism has gradually lost its pre-eminence as the English state church due to increasing pluralisation and secularization. While there are distinctive themesWhat is Anglicanism? How is it different from other forms of Christianity, and how did it come to have so many different versions throughout the world? Although originally united by location and a common belief, Anglicanism has gradually lost its pre-eminence as the English state church due to increasing pluralisation and secularization. While there are distinctive themes and emphases that emerge from its early history and theology, there is little sense of unity in Anglicanism today. Here, Mark Chapman explores the fascinating history, theology, and structures of Anglicanism, and highlights the diversity of the contemporary church by examining how traditions vary from England and American, from South Africa to Malaysia. Chapman looks at current developments and controversies, such as homosexuality and women priests, and offers thought-provoking suggestions for the future of Anglicanism. Putting the history and development of the religion into context, Chapman reveals what it is that holds Anglicanism together despite the recent crises that threaten to tear it apart....more

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Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions #149), Mark ChapmanWhat is Anglicanism? How is it different from other forms of Christianity, and how did it come to have so many different versions throughout the world? Although originally united by location and a common belief, Anglicanism has gradually lost its pre-eminence as the English state church due to increasing pluralisation and secularization. While there are distinctive themes and emphases that emerge from its early hAnglicanism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions #149), Mark ChapmanWhat is Anglicanism? How is it different from other forms of Christianity, and how did it come to have so many different versions throughout the world? Although originally united by location and a common belief, Anglicanism has gradually lost its pre-eminence as the English state church due to increasing pluralisation and secularization. While there are distinctive themes and emphases that emerge from its early history and theology, there is little sense of unity in Anglicanism today. Here, Mark Chapman explores the fascinating history, theology, and structures of Anglicanism, and highlights the diversity of the contemporary church by examining how traditions vary from England and American, from South Africa to Malaysia. Chapman looks at current developments and controversies, such as homosexuality and women priests, and offers thought-provoking suggestions for the future of Anglicanism. Putting the history and development of the religion into context, Chapman reveals what it is that holds Anglicanism together despite the recent crises that threaten to tear it apart.تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سی و یکم ماه اکتبر سال 2012 میلادیعنوان: انگلیکانیسم؛ نویسنده: مارک چپمن؛ انگلیکانیسم شاخه‌ ای از مسیحیت با مرجعیت کلیسای انگلیس است. انگلیکانیسم خود فرقه‌ ای مجزا و مستقل در مسیحیت است و جزء هیچ‌یک از فرقه‌ های دیگر مسیحیت نظیر کاتولیک، پروتستان، و ارتدکس نیست. تعداد پیروان کلیساهای انگلیکن بیش از هفتاد میلیون نفر برآورد شده‌ است. انگلیکان‌ها در بسیاری از نقاط دنیا با کلیساهای لیبرال پروتستان ترکیب شده‌ اند و با توجه به شباهت‌های بسیار زیاد از نظر سلایق سیاسی، انتخاباتی، ترکیب شغلی و تحصیلی با پروتستان‌های لیبرال در مطالعات جامعه‌ شناسی محض به عنوان بخشی از پروتستان‌های لیبرال طبقه‌ بندی می‌شوند. با این وجود این مذهب از نظر تاریخی، سازمانی و آئینی کاملاً از پروتستان‌های لیبرال مجزاست. ا. شربیانی...more

I'm not sure if any book on the Church of England and her Anglican/Episcopalian daughters could ever be "excellent"; indeed it isn't a story that really promotes excellence. However, this book is certainly "very good," sketching the history and (to the extent that it exists) thought of this curious branch of Christianity from its beginnings through to our current troubled age.

The absolute best feature of this book is that it does not have a bone to pick. It represents the diversity that has alwI'm not sure if any book on the Church of England and her Anglican/Episcopalian daughters could ever be "excellent"; indeed it isn't a story that really promotes excellence. However, this book is certainly "very good," sketching the history and (to the extent that it exists) thought of this curious branch of Christianity from its beginnings through to our current troubled age.

The absolute best feature of this book is that it does not have a bone to pick. It represents the diversity that has always existed within the Anglican world in all its fulness, without trying to promote one historical trend or party as THE Anglican way or indulging in any Golden Age delusions. The task before Chapman was a difficult one and he seems to have done a very very good job of meeting the challenge. ...more

Chapman charges that "with its history of autonomous action and its absence of central authority . . . Anglicanism has always been particularly prone to ever-increasing diversity." The purpose of this book, therefore, is to show "how and why this has come to be and whether Anglicanism has a future" (p. 12).

The book accomplishes its purpose. In doing so, however, the reader is expected to be familiar with general world history, socio-political activities, and notable events and people. Therefore,Chapman charges that "with its history of autonomous action and its absence of central authority . . . Anglicanism has always been particularly prone to ever-increasing diversity." The purpose of this book, therefore, is to show "how and why this has come to be and whether Anglicanism has a future" (p. 12).

The book accomplishes its purpose. In doing so, however, the reader is expected to be familiar with general world history, socio-political activities, and notable events and people. Therefore, the segment of the general readership who would typically buy [Anglicanism] for Dummies—if there were such a book—may not find this book a quick or easy read. Bottom line: buyer beware—short does not always mean easy....more

My wife and I, as Catholics, read this together, interested in learning more about other denominations. Unfortunately I found this book somewhat disappointing, especially in comparison to the other Very Short Introductions I have read. While the writer offers an insight into the historic origins of Anglicanism, he seems to focus too much on that, and not so much on the doctrinal or lifestyle aspects. The whole thing felt more like an information dump on the convoluted relationship between the ChMy wife and I, as Catholics, read this together, interested in learning more about other denominations. Unfortunately I found this book somewhat disappointing, especially in comparison to the other Very Short Introductions I have read. While the writer offers an insight into the historic origins of Anglicanism, he seems to focus too much on that, and not so much on the doctrinal or lifestyle aspects. The whole thing felt more like an information dump on the convoluted relationship between the Church of England and the British Monarchy. ...more

Good quick crash course. Main strength is it's focus on the diversity and elasticity of Anglicanism. In contrast, other intros will take a look at Anglicanism from an evangelical or Anglo-Catholic lens and present it as a unified tradition whose essence is that party. This text however, is keen on the accidental, factional, and even haphazard development of Anglicanism, in all its unity and diversity. What's more, the author has a savage wit.

Chapman's introduction to Anglicanism was exactly what I needed in order to get a basic backbone for Anglican history onto which I can sort and dig in deeper as I explore this tradition of my brothers and sisters

Perhaps Chapman's central idea about Anglicanism is that it lacks a single controlling authority. At its founding, the monarch was the single controlling authority. He was the Head of the Church, the Defender of the Faith. Loyalty to the Church came from the sense that the monarch had the right to control not only temporal life but spiritual life as well. Political authority came before theology.

As belief in the Divine Right of Kings faded so did the single authority of the Church. Chapman tracePerhaps Chapman's central idea about Anglicanism is that it lacks a single controlling authority. At its founding, the monarch was the single controlling authority. He was the Head of the Church, the Defender of the Faith. Loyalty to the Church came from the sense that the monarch had the right to control not only temporal life but spiritual life as well. Political authority came before theology.

As belief in the Divine Right of Kings faded so did the single authority of the Church. Chapman traces this through the rise of Parliamentary power, to the evangelical movement within the Anglican Church, to the spread of the Anglican Church as the British Empire grew and the subsequent desire among the colonial churches to have autonomy over their own churches which were far away from England and from Canterbury both geographically and culturally.

Along the way, he considers the role played by the Book of Common Prayer, the role played by Thomas Cranmer and by Richard Hooker in his defense of using reason and tradition as well as Scripture (Anglicanism's three-legged stool) for Anglican authority; and, in opposition, to Hooker and his like, the rise of the evangelicals who saw Scripture and the individual searching human heart, not tradition and reason, as the sole authority. Cranmer is an interesting case of thinking about where authority should lie. He is often seen as willing to bend whatever way the political winds were blowing. Chapman, however, writes that Cranmer was a firm believer in Royal absolutism, believing that his Christian duty was to strengthen the power of the ruling monarch, and that he was prepared, if necessary, to sacrifice all of his other doctrines to accomplish this. Of course, in the end, Cranmer's own religious convictions, even when they differed from those of the monarch, won out. And he was burned at the stake under the rule of Bloody Mary.

Despite the robust statements of faith in the Nicene Creed (We believe) and in the Apostles Creed (I believe) included in the Book of Common Prayer and recited faithfully in the Anglican Church service, Chapman, as has already been suggested, does not see theology as playing a strong unifying role in the Anglican Church. As he traces the Church's history, he concludes and perhaps overly generalizes that theology offered little opportunity for anything but controversy, so bishops and other church leaders concentrated on rules for the liturgy instead. Enter the evangelicals and then, in opposition, the Oxford Movement reformers among others.

When the colonizers took their church to the far flung corners of the British Empire, the converts in those lands were introduced to an almost wholly European Jesus who bore no traces of the Middle East where he was born or of Egypt to whence he fled as a young, formative boy. As presented, the Anglican Church was a way of understanding the world and God through European eyes. This might have worked well for the American colonies (although not for the native inhabitants of those colonies) had not their Puritan roots given them a strong sense of independence from authority - political and religious. In the colonies without British roots, where indigenous populations made up the congregants of the Anglican Church, they wanted and then strongly requested (if not demanded) their own (not English) bishops and Church practices suited to their own climate, culture, and circumstances.

To the extent that independence from one central authority has been acknowledged by Canterbury, the question of the 20th C. and even the 21st has become what is the Anglican identity? are there limits to diversity? how is coherence to be achieved without an acknowledged central authority? Conferences, commissions and consultative bodies (most notably the Lambeth Conference) still try to answer these questions. Representative bishops meet to discuss commonalities and controversies, but they confer rather than legislate. The Anglican Church has become the Global Anglican Communion. Can it hold together without a central authority? It's no longer just British (European) but pluralistic and multicultural. For many churches, although not all, within the Communion, the question of women priests has long been settled, women as bishops more recently settled (mostly in the Episcopal Church), and still controversial among many of the churches, are the ordination of gay bishops and the sacrament of a gay marriage ceremony performed with in church.

For a "very brief introduction," I thought Chapman did a good job. My one complaint is that it's sometimes unclear just what/who he's referencing.

Wonderful little book. Author understands the History and many of the nuances of Anglicanism. Attempts to make neutral comments when coming to the modern period, but the discerning reader will pick up some of his biases.

Author rightly tracks the tensions (especially during mission expansion) involved with Anglicans who viewed the role of the Bishop as central to maintaining orthodoxy, and those other groups (conservative and liberal pietists) who viewed the office of bishop as arbitrary.

This reWonderful little book. Author understands the History and many of the nuances of Anglicanism. Attempts to make neutral comments when coming to the modern period, but the discerning reader will pick up some of his biases.

Author rightly tracks the tensions (especially during mission expansion) involved with Anglicans who viewed the role of the Bishop as central to maintaining orthodoxy, and those other groups (conservative and liberal pietists) who viewed the office of bishop as arbitrary.

This reviewer's opinion is that with the decision by Canterbury (and the Primates) (in the late 1800's) to allow each province its own freedom regarding its theology and approach to heterodoxy and orthodoxy (without real accountability or censure from any central source), the door was opened to a continually fracturing Anglican Communion due to a growing disunity in its central theological rationale and core.

As the Patristic Fathers clearly taught and modeled, there is no real unity without a grounded faith, and a central authority willing to challenge error and exact accountability. This continues as a central problem in both the GAFCON realignment (with the cherry-picking encouraged and allowed by pietists/revivalists regarding the context and theology of Nicene Creed and the Inherent Patristic Theology behind the Liturgy of the BCP) and the entirety of the Anglican Communion today.

Freedom in secondary issues is a strength of the Anglican Way, but without a clear, delineated, and central theology (and the will and ability to maintain that core), "freedom" is just another form of pluralistic chaos which supports and fertilizes multiple strands of growing schism.

All in all, this little tome will be a helpful introductory tool when teaching on the History of Anglicanism....more

This book suffers from a malady that infects many in this line of “Very Short” introductions: its topic is too broad and so is its scope. Chapman does a strong job of laying out the somewhat sordid history of the Anglican church and the Anglican-Episcopal communion, but a lot of the context for the history is not included in the work for what I assume is concern about space. This means one needs an extensive knowledge English and commonwealth history that would preclude most people who would neeThis book suffers from a malady that infects many in this line of “Very Short” introductions: its topic is too broad and so is its scope. Chapman does a strong job of laying out the somewhat sordid history of the Anglican church and the Anglican-Episcopal communion, but a lot of the context for the history is not included in the work for what I assume is concern about space. This means one needs an extensive knowledge English and commonwealth history that would preclude most people who would need such an introductory text in the first place. That said, Chapman does not pick sides in many of these controversies and tries to remain purely in the realm of facts as much as possible.

The strongest sections were on the history of evangelical and Anglo-Catholic developments as well as Anglican’s churches on-again/off-again role in Protestant reformation as a whole. The sections on the world church were too brief, although this seems to be not so much a fault of Chapman’s but the format itself. Chapman addresses important issues facing the church in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, such as female priesthood and homosexuality, and the split that has arisen from these disagreements, particularly between the American and the African parts of the communion.

What this lacks, however, is a discussion of what Anglicans can agree on now. Anglican identity is covered historically, but not confessionally, leaving one to feel like all the Anglican Communion is the vapors of a national church. I suspect this is not case in most Anglican’s own experience, but the format did not allow space to address this. Since this is an introduction to Anglicanism and not just the history of the Church of England, this does seem like a significant oversight. ...more

This book is from the Oxford University Press series Very Short Introductions. I have enjoyed numerous titles from this series and each has been a great way to get some basic knowledge and understanding on a topic before continuing with further, more detailed study.

In this volume, Chapman does a great job of laying out the history of the Anglican Church (Church of England) and the other churches included in the Anglican Communion, including the Episcopal Church in the USA. He gives a very good eThis book is from the Oxford University Press series Very Short Introductions. I have enjoyed numerous titles from this series and each has been a great way to get some basic knowledge and understanding on a topic before continuing with further, more detailed study.

In this volume, Chapman does a great job of laying out the history of the Anglican Church (Church of England) and the other churches included in the Anglican Communion, including the Episcopal Church in the USA. He gives a very good explanation of the beginnings of the Church in the Reformation under Henry VIII and deftly navigates the reader through the various changes in the church through successive monarchs.

I especially appreciated the explanation of the Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic movements within the church as well as the detailed explanation of the various member churches of the modern Anglican Communion. Chapman also thoroughly covers important issues facing the church in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, such as female priesthood and homosexuality.

What I found lacking was an explanation of what it means to be Anglican. What are the defining doctrines and practices of the church today? What should I expect to experience in attending a service and what does it mean. I finished the book feeling that I now have a basic understanding of the historical, organizational, and political aspects of Anglicanism, but feeling like I will have to read another book to understand what Anglicans believe and what it means to practice this religion....more

There is not too much to say about this volume. It is a short, concise introduction to Anglicanism that gives one a taste of the movement's complexity and its place in the Christian church. Anglicanism sits somewhere between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism and Chapman shows the origins and development of that via media from distinctly medieval conceptions of Church and State to a truly globalized movement that is the second-largest single Christian body in the world. Particularly helpful isThere is not too much to say about this volume. It is a short, concise introduction to Anglicanism that gives one a taste of the movement's complexity and its place in the Christian church. Anglicanism sits somewhere between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism and Chapman shows the origins and development of that via media from distinctly medieval conceptions of Church and State to a truly globalized movement that is the second-largest single Christian body in the world. Particularly helpful is the author's demonstration that neither the Oxford Movement (Anglo-Catholics) or the Evangelical movement or Reform Movement (Calvinism) wholly own the Anglican tradition. What results is a localized, decentralized Christian church that can respond to local needs but does have trouble articulating a common tradition beyond a few basics. ...more

This was a big topic for a very short introduction; four hundred years of history covered in less than two hundred pages. What surprised and disappointed me a little was that it was a very potted history, rather than a more broad-based introduction to the topic. It seemed definitely aimed at the insider rather than someone who wanted a genuine overview. While there were some helpful summaries of the development of Anglican thought through the centuries, the minutiae of conferences proved dry andThis was a big topic for a very short introduction; four hundred years of history covered in less than two hundred pages. What surprised and disappointed me a little was that it was a very potted history, rather than a more broad-based introduction to the topic. It seemed definitely aimed at the insider rather than someone who wanted a genuine overview. While there were some helpful summaries of the development of Anglican thought through the centuries, the minutiae of conferences proved dry and somewhat unilluminating. It was written purely from the perspective of clergy rather than the experience of the ordinary member and I came away with very little flavour of what makes Anglicanism distinctive or different. It just seemed to be a bunch of men arguing over the centuries......more

I picked up this book to find out a bit more about this branch of Christianity, and by and large I was not disappointed. This is an eminently readable introduction to Anglicanism, from its founding in the 16th century to the present day. It covers all the major developments, and gives a brief background for each. It is particularly useful for anyone who wishes to put the present controversies shaking the Anglican communion in a historical context, and the last chapter of the book is devoted to tI picked up this book to find out a bit more about this branch of Christianity, and by and large I was not disappointed. This is an eminently readable introduction to Anglicanism, from its founding in the 16th century to the present day. It covers all the major developments, and gives a brief background for each. It is particularly useful for anyone who wishes to put the present controversies shaking the Anglican communion in a historical context, and the last chapter of the book is devoted to these controversies.

The only shortcoming of the book is its overly historical and political point of view. I would have appreciated a more extensive insight into the Anglican theology. Overall, however, this is a wonderful little book and I highly recommend it....more

I liked the concise style of writing in this series of short introductions by Oxford UP so when I wanted to learn more about the history of the Anglican movement I got this. Chapman does a fine job succinctly covering the winding story of English and global Anglicanism, which left me pretty equipped to carry on a conversation with an Anglican and understand current developments in the Communion.

The first three chapters of this book were very good--compelling summaries of different parts in the history in Anglicanism. Yet, once the book moved on to the sectarian history, the book devolved into a list of names and dates. It was no longer a useful "short introduction" but rather a long list of Lambeth conference topics and countries other than England which have Anglican members.

Good short summary. It serves the purpose of a brief overview for those unfamiliar with Anglicanism or as a good source of tidbits and highlights for those filling in the blanks of their Anglican knowledge. Not particularly comprehensive but very easy to read.

“to tell the world of its true Centre, of the law of mutual sacrifice by which its parts are bound together. The Church exists to maintain the order of the nation and the order of the family.”
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“It is possible to see Anglicanism as a kind of global brand with a quality control office based in Lambeth, the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Just as transnational companies like Nike or Dell have shifted production across the globe but have retained control over the design of the product in developed countries, so Anglicanism’s centres of productivity have shifted away from the old heartlands.”
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